Issue Archive

Parker Hannifin has created design concepts for valves that
can be used in MRI-compatible ventilators. The valves, built to
work with a variety of medical fluids and gases, are unaffected
by strong magnetic fields and, in turn, do not create any magnetic
fields of their own. In addition, the valves can be
designed to handle a range of operating characteristics while
minimizing total footprint.

An organization seeks one or more bonding agents that can
be dispersed into water. When the bonding agents are coated
onto a PET film and dried, the coated film should adhere to
and seal items made from rigid PE (polyethylene), PP
(polypropylene), PS (polystyrene), PVC (polyvinylchloride),
and PET (polyester). The same agent does not need to bond
all five materials. One possible solution may be a material that
has both a polar group to bond to PET and a non-polar group
that can bond to other substrates.

A large manufacturer of consumer products needs an innovative
process to make fast-cooking pasta. Cooking time
should be reduced by at least 70%, and thickness/texture of
the dry product must be the same as that of the reference
shape. Ingredients should be suitable for human consumption.
The reduction of cooking time and eventual temperature
represents not only a clear advantage for a “time-starving”
consumer, but also a lower energy consumption of the
cooking process, which reduces impact on the environment.

Low-cost, flexible diagnostic indicators must be incorporated
onto consumer product packaging. The main focus of the
technology should be the diagnosis of bad breath; a printable
diagnostic strip on a tube of toothpaste, for example, may be
a possible solution for quickly identifying halitosis. The client
wants to provide the consumer with a disposable tool to selfdiagnose
at point of sale. Solutions could be diagnostics that
detect one or multiple states, and could include tests for
breath, saliva, sweat, urine, skin cells, and tongue scraping.

To save costs and reduce weight, a company is exploring
graphene as a filler for thermoplastic resins. Work to date has
shown that graphene dispersion is generally poor in thermoplastics,
leading to less than optimal reinforcement properties
and darker color. The manufacturer is specifically interested
in the reinforcement properties of graphene in polyethylene
and polypropylene. Potential solution proposals must
include the source of the material, the matrix they are dispersing
into, the level of transparency and color, and some
measure of mechanical reinforcement.

The United States National
Research Council (NRC) has
identified Nuclear Thermal
Propulsion (NTP) as a high-priority
NASA Space Technology
Roadmap Area. NTP could be an
enabling technology to reduce
transit time and mission risk to
Near-Earth Objects, Mars, and
other deep space destinations.
Nuclear power and propulsion
technologies are key enabling
technologies for future NASA
exploration missions. The goal
for Stennis Space Center is to
investigate the technologies that
would be required in the potential
development of a Nuclear
Propulsion and Power Nonnuclear
(NP2N) test facility to
provide component- and system-level
ground testing of the NTP systems during
the development and certification
phases of their lifecycle.

Macrospray® nozzles produce consistent mists at very low
pressure. The nozzles have a uniformly distributed droplet
size (10–30 μm Sauter Mean Diameter), which provides
greater contact between deodorant, for example, and odorcausing
particles or dust. Droplet size can be tuned for the
degree of dust particle interaction and “knock-down”
required. The nozzles provide multiple tips for high flow.

Question of the Week

This week's Question: Last week, Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla, said that the electric car maker would introduce autonomous technology, an autopilot mode, by this summer; the technology will allow drivers to have their vehicles take control...